O’Malley won’t hit Christie

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley on Sunday declined to criticize New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over the bridge controversy that has engulfed the Republican’s administration and called into question his prospects for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016.

Asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” whether Christie was now “damaged goods,” O’Malley said “I don’t know.” He said the matter was more of an issue for New Jersey residents and officials.

“I don’t know if I could really shed more light on it,” said O’Malley, a Democrat who is also talked about as a potential presidential contender in 2016.

Host Candy Crowley asked whether O’Malley could imagine a similar experience happening in his administration – that one of his top aides could be so intimately involved in such a scandal and the governor not be aware of the situation. And O'Malley responded, “There’s certainly no issue that bothers our citizens as much as traffic congestions.”

Christie fired Bridget Kelly, a deputy chief of staff, last week after the disclosure of e-mails that showed she was involved in orchestrating lane closures on the George Washington Bridge.